BAGHDAD - Three car bombs exploded near Baghdad's heavily-fortified "Green Zone", home to the prime minister's office and several Western embassies, killing nine people early on Wednesday, security sources said.

The blasts came a day after two rockets were fired into the Green Zone, and are likely to heighten concerns about Iraq's ability to protect strategic sites as security deteriorates across the country.

Two of Wednesday's car bombs were parked opposite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and killed five people, the sources said.

The other car was driven by a suicide bomber who blew himself and the vehicle up outside a restaurant close to a checkpoint one street away from the Green Zone, killing four people, the sources added.

Another explosion near Khullani Square in central Baghdad left four others dead.